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Object Timeline

1946

  • Work on this object began.

1966

  • Work on this object ended.

1998

  • We acquired this object.

2012

2018

2024

  • You found it!

Textile, Gold Ripple-Wave

This is a Textile. It was made for Ford Motor Company. It is dated ca. 1956 and we acquired it in 1998. Its medium is cotton, rayon, lurex and its technique is jacquard woven compound weave. It is a part of the Textiles department.

Women became important car buyers in the 1950s, and car makers designed with them in mind. Gold Ripple-Wave was a luxury interior option on Ford’s 1957 Fairlane 500 Club and Town Victoria, and was offered only in this distinctive yellow and black color combination, to match the two-tone exterior paint finish.

This object was featured in our Object of the Week series in a post titled A Fabric with a Touch of Tomorrow.

It is credited Museum Purchase from Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program Fund.

  • Bag, Little Box
  • polyurethane embedded with polyester and polyamide metallic threads.
  • Courtesy of Luisa Cevese Riedizioni.
  • 88.2015.12
  •
  • Borders (England)
  • block-printed.
  • Gift of Brighton Art Gallery and Museum.
  • 1950-59-3

Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.

  • Border (England)
  • block-printed on handmade paper.
  • Gift of Brighton Art Gallery and Museum.
  • 1950-59-12
  •
  • Borders (England)
  • block-printed on handmade paper.
  • Gift of Brighton Art Gallery and Museum.
  • 1950-59-9
  •
  • Borders (England)
  • block-printed on handmade paper.
  • Gift of Brighton Art Gallery and Museum.
  • 1950-59-6

Its dimensions are

H x W: 187 x 154.9 cm (73 5/8 x 61 in.)

Cite this object as

Textile, Gold Ripple-Wave; Made for Ford Motor Company (United States); USA; cotton, rayon, lurex; H x W: 187 x 154.9 cm (73 5/8 x 61 in.); Museum Purchase from Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program Fund; 1998-56-1

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Saturated: The Allure and Science of Color.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/18670797/ |title=Textile, Gold Ripple-Wave |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=19 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>